Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Healing History


"Singing is praying twice”*
Chance the Rapper


Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Psalm 95:1 (NIV)

Many of us have just finished watching the 10 part documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick on the history of the Viet Nam War.  For me, the big question was “what was I doing during those years?”.   It is hard to remember the emotions surrounding that time, but it is easy to recall the music.

So beside telling the horrible facts, I was moved by the music.  The music was for me the key to the healing that is possible.  Maybe that has always been true.  The question for us is what are the songs that you are singing today and will they be a part of your life’s story.

For me the answer came October 1. 2017 at a celebration of the 500 year anniversary of the Reformation.  This was a small local effort in Holland, Michigan.  The community came to a beautiful concert hall and sang songs of the church.  The voices may have been older but we sang of healing and life.   This experience demonstrated again the power of the music we have learned and are still learning.

Marvin

References:

*Quote also attributed to St. Augustine



Hage, M. L. (2013). Healing Music 


Hymnody: The Voice of Christian Unity A festival of hymns old and new that are common to all Christian traditions.  http://www.refoholland.org

No comments:

Post a Comment